Columbus PTA Group Votes Not To Endorse Columbus City Schools Levy Request

The Columbus Council Of PTAs and PTOs voted Tuesday night not to endorse the Columbus City Schools 9.01 mil combined levy and bond issue.

(WCBE erroneously reported Wednesday that the organization voted to “take no position” on the issue.)

In the meeting at St. Stephens Community House, members of the organizations that represent the parents of Columbus students said questions about how the money raised by the levy would be spent hadn’t been answered. They voted unanimously not to endorse Issues 50 and 51. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, who arrived after the vote had been taken, reportedly got into a heated exchange with some members. Coleman has been very vocal in his support of the levy and the reforms recommended by the Columbus Education Commission, which he and city council president Andrew Ginther formed launched last year. The combined levy and body issue for the Columbus City Schools would cost the owner of a $100,000 home and additional $315 a year, and would create the position of independent auditor and send some funds to approved charter schools, as well as raising money for building, technology and instructional improvements in the district.